Find Ancestors and Your Family History with Biographies
  

IN the year 1816 there arrived in this city from Yorkshire, England, with his family, Mr. Thomas Lawson, who opened a small store on Main, near Fifth Street, the business being that of a tinner and sheet-iron worker. The place, at first small and unpretending, was in time to develop into the largest business of the kind in the city. Thomas Lawson was a plain, substantial, good man, dividing his time between his business and the care of his family. In time, business having increased, and his children grown to manhood, two of the sons, Fenton and Thomas, were admitted as partners in the firm, but the latter did not long continue, and the firm was changed to Fenton Lawson, at the time of the death of the father, along about the year 1841.

Fenton Lawson had the natural elements for a first-class merchant, which he soon became, rapidly extending his lines of business, so as to include every thing pertaining to the tin, copper, and sheet-iron line. It was this house that commenced the manufacture of the beautiful Russia iron grates so much in vogue here about a half a century since.

In addition to attending to his very large business, Mr. Lawson was enterprising in every other way. He had made a fortune in Cincinnati, and had an unwavering faith in the great future of the city. He was one of the strongest advocates of all reasonable public improvements, from the first, being one of the warmest friends of the proposed railroad to connect us with the South, as well as one of the original, substantial friends of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad, and one of the incorporators of the beautiful suburb, Glendale, and of the first to give support to the project of securing Spring Grove Cemetery; and he was also for many years a director of the solid old Lafayette Bank. Fenton Lawson's greatest usefulness, outside of his career as an honored merchant, was in his many years' services in connection with the old volunteer fire department, in its palmiest days, when it was made up of the very best people of our young city. He was for many years the president of the famous "Red Rovers," the members of which were, almost without an exception, from our very best families.  His career as the leader of the "Rovers" gave such satisfaction, that he was soon elected as the president of the Firemen's Association, where he became very popular, serving in the position without pay for years; and when he gave a positive refusal to being re-elected, the firemen and citizens generally prepared a massive service of solid silver, which was presented to Mr. Lawson in a public reception and parting farewell at the Melodeon Hall, which was densely packed on this pleasant occasion. The speeches were extremely expressive of the regret at Mr. Lawson's retirement, and the latter feelingly responded to the kind sentiments expressed, closing with hoping that the department would always be an honor to the city, and ever ready to protect life and property.

Some time afterward, the volunteer department having fallen into disrepute in consequence of the disturbances between companies caused by unworthy members, Fenton Lawson became one of the most urgent friends and active movers for the establishing of a paid fire department, one in which the members would be held to a strict responsibility for their conduct, not only at fires but at all other times; and to Miles Greenwood, Fenton Lawson, Jacob Wykoff Piatt, R. R Bray, A. B. Latta, "Uncle" Joe Ross, and City Marshal Captain James L. Ruffin are we chiefly indebted for what we now have, the best fire department in the world, although Mr. Lawson did not survive to see the fruits of his good works, as his death took place in the year 1853.

Fenton Lawson was an extremely plain and unobtrusive man, finding his greatest delight in the bosom of his own family.  The business, which was founded away back in the year 1816 by the senior Thomas Lawson, through all its various changes of firms has never been without the family name, " Lawson," the present style that of "F. H. Lawson & Co," in which is a grandson and great-grandson of Thomas Lawson; and while the establishment is the oldest in direct line of any in Cincinnati, another remarkable feature is that it has always been on the same square—in fact, almost the same spot—where it was originally established and is now located.

Mr. Lawson was a firm believer in the doctrines of the "New Church;" Swedenborgians, and, from the time of its organization here till the time of his death, was one of its most zealous and highly respected members.